‘Miracle’ in Colombia airliner crash

BOGOTA, Colombia – A Boeing 737 jetliner crashed in a thunderstorm and broke apart as it slid onto the runway on a Caribbean island early Monday morning. Only one of the 131 people on board died, and the island’s governor called it a miracle.

The plane hit short of the runway on Colombia’s San Andres Island and skidded on its belly as the fuselage fractured and bits of landing gear and at least one engine were ripped off. The jet wound up on one end of the runway, crumpled and in pieces.

Of the 125 passengers and six crew members aboard the Aires airline jet, the only one killed was a 68-year-old woman, Amar Fernandez de Barreto, said San Andres Gov. Pedro Gallardo.

“It was a miracle and we have to give thanks to God,” Gallardo said.

Officials were investigating a range of possible causes and looking into reports that Aires Flight 8520 was hit by lightning before the crash on the resort island, Colombian air force Col. David Barrero said.

“You can’t speculate. Lightning? A gust of wind? The investigation will say,” Barrero said. “The pilot’s skill kept the plane from colliding with the airport.”

Officials said 119 people were treated or checked at clinics and five were seriously injured.

The airline said at least five U.S. citizens were on the plane.

The accident occurred so suddenly that the pilot did not report an emergency to the control tower, said Col. Donald Tascon, deputy director of the civil aeronautics agency. He said the plane’s low altitude as it prepared to land – perhaps 100 feet just before the crash – may have averted worse damage.

Passenger Ricardo Ramirez told Caracol Radio that all had seemed normal, even though the plane was flying through a storm, with flashes of lightning, as it neared the airport.

“The plane was coming in perfectly. We were just about to land, everything was under control,” he said. The accident “appeared out of nowhere.”